Skin Problems & Treatments Community

My inner elbow occasionally itches, due to sweat or heat. Usually, the itch goes away on its own without a trace of a rash. I thought nothing of it when I had another itch.

However, a couple days later, it had developed into a rash that resembled an eczema flare-up. I used Elidel (prescription steroidal cream) which unfortunately did nothing to take away the redness, itchiness or reduce the size of the rash. I looked into collodial oatmeal lotions which helped bring down the redness. I also applied cucumber slices to help soothe the itchiness. I never scratched the rash itself as I knew this would irritate it further. So I instead scratched around the rash, but to my horror, the rash spread to those areas.

After consistent use of oatmeal moisturizer and applying cucumber slices, the redness dulled down to a brown. It still itched, however, and desperate for it to go away completely, I researched & bought numerous moisturizers and creams to see if they would be any more effective. One of these products unfortunately made me develop an infection (a rash with small bumps with white pus in the center) OVER the existing rash. I tried Neosporin to make it go away -- nothing. I also used tree oil, which dried it up horribly and has left it at the state it is in now.

I have not worn any clothing over the rash so the skin can breathe. I have also cut out dairy and meat products for the past week. I am crazy desperate to make this go away, as it's been going on for about a month now, and there seems to be no end to the itching at night and waking me up from my sleep so I can apply cold compresses to it. Even that only helps for a couple minutes.

I assume it is eczema, but it looked sort of like psoriasis, but maybe it's something different altogether. It is now a red, rough, hard patch of skin with many bumps surrounding it. Has anyone else suffered from a rash like this? What can I do to help make it go away? I've given up on letting it subside without leaving a scar, because the rash seems intent on leaving behind an unslightly brown mark. I cannot afford to go to the dermatologist because I do not have health insurance. Please help!


The brown part you see on the right was the result of my scratching around the rash. As you can tell, the redness (aftermath of an infection?) is covering a brown part of the skin, which was what happened after my original rash had subsided a little.